Deadline: May 15, 2026

I am pleased to announce a call for papers for the first edited volume devoted to the Netflix limited series Ripley (Zaillian, 2024). Perspectives on Netflix’s Ripley seeks to explore the myriad ways in which this striking adaptation reimagines Patricia Highsmith’s iconic character for a new era of streaming television. I invite proposals from scholars, practitioners, and critics whose work engages with adaptation, media studies, sexuality, and screen cultures.

About the Volume

Ripley, based on Highsmith’s celebrated novel, offers a noir-inflected meditation on duplicity, queerness, and identity within the seductive landscapes of mid-century Italy. Written and directed by Steven Zaillian and starring Andrew Scott in the titular role, the series stands at the crossroads of literary adaptation and the shifting aesthetics of contemporary streaming television. Its monochrome palette, deliberate pacing, and psychological intensity invite viewers to re-examine not only the figure of Tom Ripley, but also the very structures that define contemporary television.

This edited volume aims to situate Ripley within broader conversations about adaptation in the age of streaming, the affordances and limitations of new media, and the cultural, political, and psychological dimensions of the titular character. The volume seeks to foster interdisciplinary dialogue, and I welcome contributions from established and emerging voices. Join us in interrogating the darkness and allure of Ripley.

The aim is for a proposal for this collection to be submitted to Intellect, which has expressed an interest. It is designed for their Television Studies series. 

Possible Themes and Topics

I encourage authors to engage with Ripley broadly and creatively. Submissions might address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Adaptation and remediation in the Streaming Age: How does Ripley rework Highsmith’s novel and remediate earlier screen versions (notably Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, René Clément’s Plein Soleil, and Claude Chabrol’s Les Biches)? What does adaptation mean within the context of Netflix’s transnational audience and algorithmic reach?
  
• Streaming Television’s Affordances: In what ways does the streaming format—bingeability, episodic structure, global accessibility—shape the series’ narrative, formal, and thematic choices?
  
• Sexuality and Queerness: How is desire, intimacy, and queer identity articulated in Ripley? How do the series’ visual, narrative and representational strategies encode or obfuscate sexual tension, power, and repression?
  
• Visual Style: What is the significance of the show’s black-and-white cinematography, its painterly compositions, and its interplay with previous cinematic intertexts or the visual arts?
  
• Soundscape and Score: How does the series’ musical score and sound design contribute to the construction of suspense, affect, and atmosphere?
  
• Transnationalism and Locale: How does the series portray Italy and Italians? How does it portray émigrés living in Italy? What are the implications of setting and place for character and genre? How is Ripley situated in terms of Netflix’s transnational co-production output? What are the implications for its transnational microaudiences?
  
• Class, Mobility, and Social Performance: In what ways does Ripley interrogate questions of class, aspiration, and the performance of identity?
  
• Reception, Fandom, and Critique: How has Ripley been received by critics and audiences? What discourses have emerged on social media, in reviews, and among fans?
  

Aim and Scope

This book aims to assemble a diverse array of perspectives that illuminate the aesthetic, political, and cultural resonances of Netflix’s Ripley. By gathering essays that traverse disciplinary boundaries, I hope to offer a comprehensive account of how this adaptation both reflects and reframes the enduring fascination with Highsmith’s enigmatic antihero.

The collection will be of interest to:

• Scholars of film, television, adaptation, and media studies
  
• Researchers in gender, sexuality, and queer studies
  
• Students and educators seeking new approaches to intermedial adaptation and remediation, and Highsmith’s work
  
• Cultural critics and practitioners interested in streaming media’s impact on narrative
  
• Fans of Highsmith, noir, and prestige television drama
  

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words, outlining the proposed chapter’s title, contents, argument, approach, and significance.

Please include

• Up to 5 key words outlining the proposed chapter’s focus.
  
• A brief author biography (up to 150 words), including institutional affiliation and relevant publications.
  
• An acknowledgement of use of AI in preparation of the abstract, if applicable, including the AI tool/s used, the extent of their use, and the prompts used. (up to 150 words).
  

Deadline: 15 May 2026

Please use the following webform for submissions: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2ON1aS110iv43gcEsqO2paSkt3ccQcWiAWcm9FStsBjvdyQ/viewform?usp=heade

About the Editor

The volume will be edited by Joy McEntee, author of the first monograph on the Ripley: Netflix’s Ripley: Television Antiheroes, Difficult Empathy, and the Aesthetics of Forgery (forthcoming). She is also co-editor of Kubrick and Race (2025) and author of Kubrick and Women (forthcoming).

Contact and Further Information

For all queries, please direct correspondence to joy.mcentee@adelaide.edu.au 

Updates regarding the project will be posted to those who submit in due course.

Acknowledgement of AI

I acknowledge the use of CoPilot to generate this Call for Papers.